Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Doom of Exiles" by Sylvia Plath is a sonnet that expertly weaves psychological and existential landscapes to explore the complex tapestry of human existence. The sonnet form, characterized by its stringent rhyme scheme and structural requirements, traditionally grapples with themes of love, mortality, and human frailty. In this poem, Plath uses the form to her advantage to illuminate the inescapable caverns of the human mind and the existential challenges that we all must face.

The poem starts with an intriguing concept: "returning from the vaulted domes / Of our colossal sleep." This imagery conjures a realm both familiar and remote, a resting place from which the speakers emerge only to confront a changed reality. The "tall metropolis of catacombs" stands as a metaphor for a mind burdened with haunting memories and existential dilemmas. This inward maze serves as a haunting reflection of the external world-a place where "green alleys" have turned into demonic realms and where celestial music is replaced by oppressive silence.

The middle of the poem introduces the mythological figure of Icarus, whose doomed flight symbolizes human ambition that defies divine limitations, only to result in catastrophic failure. Here, Icarus's story is a metaphor for a collective human experience, a past marked by ambition and subsequent fall from grace. This resonates as a universal theme; humanity continually strives to recover a lost past, to "reclaim the day," only to find decay and disillusionment.

The volta, or thematic turn, often featured in the final lines of a Shakespearean sonnet, is present here. Despite the grim tableau, the poem closes on a note of tenacity: "Still, stubbornly we try to crack the nut / In which the riddle of our race is shut." This is a testament to the indomitable human spirit, constantly battling against the limitations of existence and always striving to make sense of the inscrutable. It's a desperate grasp at meaning in a world that often feels meaningless.

The rhyme scheme of the sonnet, ABABCDCDEFEFGG, serves not just as an aesthetic choice but as a structural pillar that supports and heightens the thematic elements of the poem. The rhyme links concepts such as return and decay, ambition and disillusionment, in a cyclical pattern that mirrors the inescapable nature of the existential questions posed.

In "Doom of Exiles," Sylvia Plath leverages the sonnet form to create a compact but expansive world that captures the intricacies of human emotion and thought. From the harrowing journey through the catacombs of the mind to the resilient spirit that persists despite it all, the poem serves as a poignant encapsulation of the human condition. The structured form paradoxically provides a framework within which the chaos and uncertainty of human experience can be both contained and critically examined.

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...